AP Photo/Ben Curtis, File
It’s a rare moment indeed when a state party publicly criticizes a president from their own side of the partisan aisle, but that’s exactly what happened Tuesday when the Florida Democratic Party (FDP) sent out a press release stating that they “condemn in the strongest terms” President Joe Biden’s decision to remove Cuba from the list of State Sponsors of Terrorism.
On Tuesday, the White House notified Congress of the intent to remove Cuba from the list and ease some of the economic sanctions the U.S. has imposed, in connection with a deal “facilitated by the Catholic Church” to free “many dozens” of political prisoners, the AP reported.
CNN reported that this release would involve 553 political prisoners based on a letter Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel sent to Pope Francis. A statement from the Cuban Foreign Ministry committed to neither releasing any specific prisoners nor any specific time frame, saying only that the prisoners would be released “gradually,” but anonymous State Department officials told
The statement released by the FDP quoted chair Nikki Fried:
I am disappointed at the Biden Administration’s plan to remove Cuba from the list of state sponsors of terrorism. While any return of political prisoners from the clutches of Communist Cuba is cause for celebration, the regime’s treatment of the Cuban people continues to be one of the biggest human rights violations of the last century. It would be naive to think that this negotiated exchange would signal a change in treatment for the Cuban people.Generations of Cuban-Americans in Florida have told stories about the cruelty of the Castro regime — currently led by Raul’s hand-picked successor — and the dangers they faced in escaping to freedom in America. We condemn in the strongest terms Cuba’s removal from this list, as well as any possible lifting of economic sanctions, and call on the Biden Administration to reverse course immediately.
Currently, Cuba is one of only four nations listed by the State Department as State Sponsors of Terrorism, along with North Korea, Iran, and Syria. Cuba had been removed from the list during President Barack Obama’s second term, but then put back on the list in the final days of President Donald Trump’s first term, on Jan. 11, 2021, with the
Trump is widely expected to swiftly reverse this move by Biden, with the support of his choice for Secretary of State, Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL), the son of Cuban immigrants who has spoken many times in support of sanctions against the communist regime in Cuba.